


Clarity

by marmolady



Series: Beyond Vaanu: Endless Ending [7]
Category: Endless Summer (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22385062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marmolady/pseuds/marmolady
Summary: (Endless Ending– set after my longer fic, ‘Broken Chains’) A future is something Estela never thought she’d ever need to muse upon; her purpose was to destroy Everett Rourke, and nothing else. But thanks to her friends, to her beloved Taylor, she’s found herself staring down the barrel of the great unknown; a peaceful life. All of a sudden; the path is clear to her.
Relationships: Estela Montoya/Main Character (Endless Summer)
Series: Beyond Vaanu: Endless Ending [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1906357
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Clarity

The light footfall of a young woman, once an expertly-honed human weapon, was unheard through the pattering of rain. Even as she enjoyed a simple run through the wilderness beyond her suburban Northbridge home, Estela moved like a lithe wildcat; every movement precise, calculated. By now it was simply habit; for many years a single misstep could have spelled the end for everything she held dear. This dreary, wet evening, she ran for the joy of it. To have her body fire up, to be alive. Her stamina had needed rebuilding; a brutal encounter with a _dinosaur_ of all things had brought about a long period of recuperation. At last, Estela knew, as she comfortably slowed to a fast walk, cooling down, she was back.

It was a quiet neighbourhood where a large group of the Catalysts had settled together; within easy reach of Hartfeld, but secluded enough that they could seek refuge together should they need it. Nobody had been left unscathed by the time they’d shared on La Huerta, which had seen them endure the destruction of all they held dear. The world had been restored, thanks to Taylor’s self-sacrifice, but that kind of trauma didn’t go away overnight. With no one else capable of understanding their experiences, the friends took comfort in one another as, together and separately, they pieced their lives back together. For Estela, it was a life barely recognisable from the one she’d come from.

The momentous shifts had left Estela experiencing something of an identity crisis. Since her mother’s death, her sole purpose had been to avenge her, to destroy Everett Rourke even if it killed her. There’d been little doubt that if she was to leave La Huerta alive, it would be in chains… but then, Taylor happened. Estela had dared envisage a future with her soulmate on their safeguarded island home, only for those dreams to wind up in jeopardy when the fate of the world rested upon Taylor’s sacrifice of herself. Even with her beloved Taylor having pulled through and the promise of a future stretching out before her, Estela could only grasp at the pieces of what such a future could hold. If she wasn’t revenge, if she wasn’t fighting powers of corruption, who was she? Content just to have her partner alive and by her side, her uncle living his own life in San Trobida, and to be surrounded by the only true friends she’d ever known, such questions were overshadowed by the simple need to recover. Since returning to Hartfeld and with the prospect of finishing her degree becoming very real, Estela found herself taking to the wilderness for long periods of soul-searching. The stretches of walking tracks into beautiful woodland were in fact one of the greatest draws when they’d chosen this place as their home in the States. After La Huerta, to be near nature almost felt like a necessity if any deep thinking was to be done. If the evening’s rejuvenating and enlightening ramble was anything to go by, the decision had been a wise one.

Squeals cut through the sound of rain, ringing from a fenced yard off the opposing footpath, and tearing Estela from her thoughts. Even in this benign environment, she made a point of being alert to her surroundings. She glanced upwards, ignoring the droplets that fell from her eyebrows with the shake of her head. A smile quirked at her mouth. The sound of kids playing in the rain was weirdly comforting, a promise that life was going on, that peace could exist in Estela’s world. It had taken adjustment, a _lot_ of adjustment, but she was gradually learning to open herself up to trusting in that kind of world. She kept up her pace, for as refreshing as it was to hear the spirited cries and laughter of friends and family, it was her own that she craved. The voices quietened, the noisy kids seeming to have taken shelter from the weather. Estela, though, liked the rain—even with it here being so much colder than what she’d always known. It pounded against her skin, sending a chill up her body at odds with the heat that pulsed through her limbs. She was wide awake to this revived world, and the smog of uncertainty that had clouded her future was, little-by-little, being washed away. As she powered on through the rain-drenched streets, her way forward was clear, and she might just about fall over herself in her drive to offload her revelations upon the woman she knew was waiting for her.

* * *

“ _Estela_!” Craig’s voice boomed jovially as she stepped into a warm hallway from the wet. “It’s raining!”

Even as she rolled her eyes, Estela couldn’t keep the grin from her face. “You know, Craiggers, I hadn’t noticed.”

She moved further into the inviting bosom of her home, greeted with nods and smiles of acknowledgement. A small group was sitting around the coffee table, engaged in a boardgame. A split-second glance was all it took for her to scope out the fact that Taylor was not among them.

“It really came down hard, huh?” Quinn held out a towel; clearly, she’d been concerned from the moment the rain had started. “Better not catch a chill. Michelle would never let you hear the end of it”

“Thanks.” Estela took the towel gratefully and buried her sopping face in it, clearing sodden hair from her eyes. “Is—”

A smiling Quinn answered before the question even left Estela’s lips, having caught those wandering eyes. “Taylor’s waiting for you upstairs.”

Estela’s frame stiffened momentarily. Had she really gotten that predictable? But maybe, maybe her friends just _knew_ her. Maybe… maybe she actually liked the feeling. Recovering, she laughed. “Okay. Thanks for… that too.”

Estela pushed open the door to the loft space she shared with her wife. The room was nothing flashy, not like their digs in either of the grand resorts on La Huerta, but it was theirs. It was simply decorated; a queen-size bed with a rustic wooden frame took up most of the space, and hanging above it was a painting Quinn had gifted them—of themselves silhouetted against a sunset on one of their favourite beaches on the island. On shelf upon the other wall was a display of weaponry, now with little use but for the reminder of hardships once faced. A homemade spear that utilised a sharp kitchen knife, and above it, two obsidian daggers; one a gift to Taylor from Seraxa to honour her heroic rescue of young Taari, and the other with a dragon carved into the hilt—a Valentine’s present from Taylor to Estela. Then there were photographs. Lots of photographs. Among them, of course, the charred-edged photo Vaanu had offered with a vision of a future Estela might live; but it was among countless others—group selfies, old childhood memories, images of a couple growing into themselves side-by-side. And in the corner, a comfortable armchair, where Taylor sat cross-legged, a purring cat on one knee and an open book laid on the other. She looked up; face lit with a grin at the simple joy of her lover’s return.

“Hello, beautiful.” Taylor winked, affection bringing utter softness to her blue eyes. “Nice run?”

Helplessly, Estela mirrored her wife’s smile. Just to see that look upon Taylor’s face warmed her to her core; she was home. She knew her excitement would be shared. “Very. It gave me some new… I don’t know… clarity, maybe. Like the rain washed away the dust that had been blocking me.”

Taylor sat up straighter, taking in the picture of her wife. She did look… different, somehow. As though something had shifted. It had been a long time coming; for all their domestic bliss, a sense of a deeper direction had been hard to grasp. Healing had to happen first, and to stop and breathe at last had opened Estela up to the onslaught of a lifetime’s only half-processed pain.

“Clarity is a good look on you.” Laying aside her book and easing the cat, Madam, onto the bed, Taylor stood. She had to bring herself nearer to Estela. When she reached to touch her, she was met with icy skin patterned with goose-bumps. “Oh, Estela-baby, you’re shivering!”

“I’m fine, Taylor, I’m fine.” Estela took Taylor’s face in her cold hands and kissed her again and again. “ _More than_ fine.”

Even as she nuzzled into those wonderful kisses, Taylor reached for Estela’s hands and guided them beneath her shirt. She flinched slightly at the shock of them cold against her chest, but she held them there, warming them upon her heartbeat.

“ _Mmmm…”_ Estela hummed. She might just be in heaven.

“Hey,” Taylor said quietly. “I actually ran a bath for you; I thought it might be a nice way to wind down after your run, get the last of the tension out of your body before bed. The temperature should be just right—if you fancy a soak, that is.”

Estela’s eyes bored into Taylor’s. Strong, sure, but holding only tenderness. Once captured in such a look, one was powerless but to feel the love that surged through. Taylor felt heat rise to her cheeks, and then she was in her lover’s arms.

“If you join me,” Estela replied, a soft smile upon her lips, “then, yes. I’d like that a lot.”

As she lowered her body into the deliciously hot bath, Estela exhaled the ache from her tired muscles with a happy moan. “ _O-oh,_ that’s nice.”

She had to hand it to Taylor; this really was the perfect way to unwind. She submerged herself completely, letting the water take her, envelop her tired body, and warm her from the outside in.

There were a few heavy splashes, bubbles rising with the motion of the water, and Taylor was in too, propping herself up at the head of the bathtub and ready to put an arm around Estela.

“So,” she began, as Estela breached the surface, “tell me more about this breakthrough of yours.”

Estela hummed wordlessly to herself as she got comfortable; chin just above the line of bubbles and Taylor entwined around her. When she caught her wife’s eye, the eagerness she saw there made her heart swell. This adventure was and always had been, theirs together.

“I know what I need to do,” she said at last, her eyes shining with certainty. “It’s so obvious, I don’t know why it took me so long…”

“Hey, cut yourself some slack. You _have_ just bounced back from the end of the world.” Taylor placed a gentle kiss to Estela’s nose, and appreciated how its bridge crinkled with delight at the touch of her lips.

“I’m going to start over with a new major. I thought carrying on with Business might help if I’m going to be working with Aleister, but he’s got that side of things covered. And, honestly, it’s not me.”

“So, I want to change to Peace and Conflict Studies. If I’m going to use what I have to invest in my home, to do what I can to help us rebuild, I need to know that what I’m doing is working to prevent a war like that happening in San Trobida ever again.”

“Wow, ‘Stel, that’s perfect!”

“You… you think so?” Estela didn’t know why she felt so sheepish. Taylor would _never_ judge her, whatever path she wanted to take from here. But then, it was so fresh, so new, an idea yet to be tempered by life’s critical eye. Estela _wanted_ it to be everything she felt it was.

Taylor, though, was beaming. “I really do. You remember all those months ago when we first started dating? We took a break by a cold lake; drank the water and swam together…”

“I don’t remember that.”

“Wait… no.” Taylor did a double take. Of course, the time loop. She couldn’t _actually_ remember which of her several visits to the lake was the last—the one from the timeline Estela experienced. “Hang on, that was in one of those time loops I got caught in. You never actually…”

Estela laughed. Talk of time loops? Now _that_ was a blast from the past... and very, very Taylor. “Oh, I think I know when you mean. You said there was a time loop when we were trekking to Elyys’tel to rescue Diego. Around the time I saw my first snow.”

“Yes, that’s exactly it!” _Ah, so as far as Estela’s concerned, the conversation I’m thinking of never even happened. Yay, time anomalies._ “Well, I guess you won’t remember what you told me, then. You told me that peace made you uneasy, that you couldn’t know where people stood if there wasn’t a conflict.”

Her brow furrowed, Estela considered Taylor quietly. She had no recollection of such an exchange, but it sounded like something she might have said; it spoke to a way she’d once felt. “I know where you stand,” she said softly.

“You said that then, too.” Taylor squeezed Estela ever-closer to her. “But what I meant to say was, maybe understanding the mechanics of these things will bring _you_ peace. Make it easier for you to believe in. For so long, violence has seemed inevitable to you.”

Estela’s throat was tight. How was it that Taylor could see her so well? To see her and love her so? She nodded slowly, and returned the squeeze.

Taylor continued, practically gushing. “I mean, what’s your core? The centre of you? All you’ve ever, ever wanted is to make the world better for the people you love; to keep them safe and happy. You’re gonna do that. And we’ll be safe and happy, yeah?”

“I love you,” Estela uttered, voice hoarse as it pushed forth. _Damn emotion._

“And I love you. So much, and for always.”

Her trembling breath exhaled the adrenaline, then Estela wriggled herself around so that she was completely behind Taylor, spooning her from the back.

“Hey—where are you going?”

“ _Mi amor,_ I’m taking care of you.”

Estela took a handful of the luxuriant shampoo that they’d brought back from the Elysian, and began massaging it into Taylor’s wet scalp. She started gentle, gradually increasing the pressure until she reached what she knew was her wife’s sweet spot. As if on cue, a happy murmur escaped Taylor’s lips.

“That’s it. Now lean forward. Eyes closed, _querida.”_

The whole time keeping her body pressed as close to Taylor’s as possible, Estela cupped an armful of water, and rinsed away the suds from the golden locks. She carried on then with conditioning, delighting in the pleasured whimpers that rose to her ear.

“Um… ‘Stel?”

“Hmmm?”

“I thought the idea was for _you_ to relax…?”

Estela gave a gentle huff and pressed a slow, ardent kiss beneath Taylor’s ear. She could feel goose-bumps rise to meet her lips with each breath she drew there. “If I told you that feeling you go to jelly beneath my hands and mouth was my own self-care…?”

A shiver ran right up Taylor’s back, momentarily stunning her senseless. Her cheeks flushed a flaming red, the space between her legs throbbed. _Damn it, Estela!_ But what came out was “ _Hnnng_ …”

“Touching you, feeling you… it’s refreshing in the best way. It brings me back to myself. The myself you helped me find.” Estela’s smile became sly at the satisfying shudder that shook her lover’s frame, the escaping squeak that accompanied it. “And those little noises that you make are worth every effort.”

If anything, Taylor’s blush grew even fiercer. She breathed out too heavily, giving away the euphoria that pulsed through her body. Then the exhale became a laugh, for she could not take enough of that teasing. Estela’s playful side was a treasure hard won, and it was a gift beyond measure. “You’re right. You’re enjoying yourself _way_ too much. C’mere; your turn.”

Confidently, Taylor took charge, knowing full well that she couldn’t outdo Estela’s physical prowess, nor her mile-long stubborn streak. She was granted a position of control only out of the most profound trust. It was an honest thrill she doubted would ever be lost on her. The act of giving that trust seemed as fulfilling for Estela as receiving it was for Taylor. She reciprocated the pampering care, and felt all remaining tension flow from Estela’s body, as if the loving caress of her hands was its vessel into the universe.

Her eyes closed, Estela melted into the touch. Never had she felt safer. It was just as well, for there was another sensitive subject to be broached.

“I thought about what you said, as well,” she began quietly. “About, you know, talking to someone. Some kind of therapy.”

Taylor’s heart skipped a beat. It had been a long time coming. After returning from La Huerta, the deep mental scars had become increasingly apparent in Estela as she found herself faced with a chance to at last catch her breath… to process. To consider delving into the rawest parts of herself with another person went against every protective wall that Estela had built, and yet her trust in Taylor had challenged that wall at every turn. Taylor, loving and fiercely defensive of Estela’s heart, longed to help her wife along a road of deeper healing, but was cautious not to push too hard. There were some things that could not be easily exposed to a stranger. As Taylor hastily recovered herself, she offered a gently curious, “Oh?”

“I want to,” Estela said, her voice firmer, surer. “I just… I think I might be more comfortable talking to someone at home; in San Trobida. There are a couple of groups for young people who were involved in the war. If… if that’s where I’m wanting to help, I need to know what people there _need._ And if I can move through some of my own baggage in the process, with people who kind of get it… I think it’s the way I need to do this.”

Taylor felt her eyes prickle with tears. She looked into her wife’s face, and let the beautiful warmth of wonderment, of pride, bubble up within. “I hope you know how _goddamn much_ I admire you, Estela Montoya.”

Estela glanced away, bashful. “It’s just what’s right.”

“Yeah, and that’s you. Even now you’re taking the time to make sure _you’re_ healing, you’re doing it in a way that helps others. You’re an actual hero.”

“Maybe. But only because of you.” A playful smile came to Estela’s face, as she scooped up a handful of bubbles and dabbed them onto Taylor’s nose. She giggled as her partner’s face scrunched up in a laugh. “ _Got you_.”

Taylor spluttered, sending bubbles flying with a flail of her arms. Apparently, the logistics, the finer mechanics of getting such therapy while their lives were, for the most part, at Hartfeld, could wait. One revelation, one step, one breakthrough at a time. Estela would come into herself, would heal, but Taylor knew too much than to let the light-hearted moments of easy, connected bliss pass her by. They’d been through a lot for the privilege of walking this path together; why not enjoy it?

“Oh, you have most definitely got me.”

A wild retaliatory splash over the side of the tub caused a long streak of cat to retreat, hissing, from the ensuite bathroom, while her two owners howled with laughter.

“Sorry, Mierdita!” Estela choked out, through her guffaws. That’d teach the cat not to choose the bathroom mat as a nap spot. But she was not sorry. Not when her very soul felt lighter than she’d once thought possible; not when she was free, safe and secure to play, to let simple _joie de vivre_ sweep her away with the woman who held her heart and hand.

What lay ahead, clear as day, was more of this. Holding one another through hysterical fits of giggles, cocooned in a home that knew only love and family. And the next, brave steps? That road was shining there before them; theirs to tread side-by-side.


End file.
